Knockdown recreation table construction

ABSTRACT

A recreation table construction including a disc carrying a playing surface thereon, removable and replaceable arcuate segment assemblies mounted to the disc about the peripheral edge thereof and endwise spaced one from the other, each segment assembly including cushion means along the inner facing section thereof and slot means formed in the opposite ends of said assemblies, a plurality of demicylindrical cup members, each demicup member having flange means and arranged engaged between the ends of the segments with the flange means received in the slot means of adjacent segment assemblies, each of the demicups bridging the gap between adjacent segment assemblies and cooperating with the peripheral edge of the disc to form a round pocket billiard table; roller means are provided for removable coupling to the disc about the periphery, below and slightly extending outward of the disc and a rotatable upstanding rim is provided for engagement upon said roller means selectively in substitution for said segment assemblies and demicup means without undue manipulations or handling, said rim having a portion thereof removed to provide limited tabletop access; said recreation table being so capable of multiple purpose recreational and other use.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Kenneth Wiggins 94255 Vernon Ave., Chicago, 111. 60619 [21] Appl. No. 837,661 [22] Filed June 30, 1969 [45] Patented Oct. 5, 1971 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 701,210, Jan. 29, 1968, now Patent No. 3,526,404.

[54] KNOCKDOWN RECREATION TABLE CONSTRUCTION 6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] 11.8. CI 273/5 A, 273/12, 108/11, 273/9, 273/30 [51] Int. Cl A63d 3/00 [50] Field of Search 273/2, 3, 4, 4.1, 4.3, 5.2, 5.4, 8,9,12,118,118 D, 123, 136

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 296,677 4/1884 Chasley 273 3 A 592,941 11/1907 Stahl 273/5 A 1,641,525 9/1927 BOSSOW.... 273/5 A 370,224 9/1887 Wheeler 273/123 476,324 6/1892 Starks 273/2 UX 711,482 10/1902 Delaney 273/9 842,550 1/1907 Houts 273/12 1,164,791 12/1915 Desenberg 1,725,069 8/1929 Eyles ABSTRACT: A recreation table construction including a disc carrying a playing surface thereon, removable and replaceable arcuate segment assemblies mounted to the disc about the peripheral edge thereof and endwise spaced one from the other, each segment assembly including cushion means along the inner facing section thereof and slot means formed in the opposite ends of said assemblies, a plurality of demicylindrical cup members, each demicup member having flange means and arranged engaged between the ends of the segments with the flange means received in the slot means of adjacent segment assemblies, each of the demicups bridging the gap between adjacent segment assemblies and cooperating with the peripheral edge of the disc to form a round pocket billiard table; roller means are provided for removable coupling to the disc about the periphery, below and slightly extending outward of the disc and a rotatable upstanding rim is provided for engagement upon said roller means selectively in substitution for said segment assemblies and demicup means without undue manipulations or handling, said rim having a portion thereof removed to provide limited tabletop access; said recreation table being so capable of multiple purpose recreational and other use.

PATENTED 0m 5 I971 INVENTOR ATTYS.

KNOCKDOWN RECREATION TABLE CONSTRUCTION CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-impart of my copending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 701,210 filed Jan. 29, 1968 (now US. Pat. No. 3,526,404) for Portable Game Table Having Rotatable Rim.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to recreational apparatus and more particularly concerns the provision of a knockdown, portable recreation table of unusual versatility, easily assembled and disassembled from a plurality of simply constructed components for play of billiards in the round, marbles, table tennis, cards and other games and general usage.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The game table described and claimed in my copending application was directed to the playing of games such as marbles, table tennis, card games and for general purpose table use. The improvement thereto to which this application is directed increases the versatility of use, in that there is provided means whereby the said table may be easily and effectively converted to a pocket billiard table by simple substitution of certain components.

The game of billiards or pocket billiards is so well known as to obviate explanationof the method and means of playing the same. Round billiard tables are known to the art. Likewise, knockdown constructions for round billiard tables are also known. However, none of the structures contemplated by the prior art are suitable for incorporation with the table of my copending application so that the complete recreation table may be offered as a lump-sum package to the purchasing public. Either the parts are too numerous or complex, or the same are bulky or otherwise unwieldy to be satisfactory. The essence of advantage would be simplicity of construction and assembly and the ease of adaptation within the construction of game table disclosed in my copending application.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of this invention to provide a recreation table which is versatile and easy to erect and disassemble, and whereupon, is convertible easily between a pocket billiard table and a table for the play of many other and varied games and general purpose use.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A knockdown recreation table convertible between a pocket billiard table and one having a rotatable rim, said table comprising a disc member carrying a playing surface, a plurality of arcuate segment assemblies arranged along the peripheral edge of said disc member opening toward the center thereof, each of said segment assemblies having the opposite ends thereof spaced from the next adjacent segment assembly and each have said segment assemblies including cushion means secured to the inner surface thereof relative to the disc, means for removably securing said segment assemblies to said disc, cup means disposed along the periphery of said disc between and bridging the space between said segment assemblies and means for removably securing said cup means to said segment assemblies to define pockets between the segment assemblies, roller means adapted to be removably mounted to the disc along the peripheral edge thereof and to extend slightly outwardly of and disposed below the playing surface and a selectively rotatable upstanding rim ridable upon said roller means about the periphery of said disc and removable therefrom for replacement with said segment assemblies and cup means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the game table disclosed in my copending application to which the improvement provided herein is directed;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section taken through table of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the round pocket billiard table converted from the table of FIG. I in accordance with the invention herein;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one of the arcuate segment assemblies utilized to convert the game table of FIG. 1 into a round billiard table in accordance with the herein invention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section taken through the table of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the demicup means utilized to form the pockets of the round billiard table of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, in FIG. 1 the recreation table constructed in accordance with the invention is designated generally by reference character 10 and is shown mounted upon an ordinary, welbknown collapsible card table, the legs of which are visible and represented by reference character 12.

The recreation table 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1 in the condition described in my copending application referred to above. It is shown as comprising a disc 14 carrying a playing surface 16. The playing surface may be of suitable friction material, such as felt. The playing surface 16 is circular in configuration and spaced inwardly of the edge of the disc 14 leaving bare ring 18 about the peripheral edge of the disc 14. An annular rim 20 is shown mounted onto depending roller means 22 for rotation about the circumference of the disc 14.

The roller means 22 comprise a plurality of rollers 24 mounted to each of brackets 26, one leg 34 of which is in turn slidably and removably mounted to respective ones of channeled holders 28. The rollers 24 extend outwardly of the peripheral edge of the disc and below the playing surface so that the rim 20 is disposed closely adjacent the peripheral edge of the disc 14.

In FIG. 1, the table 10 is shown arranged for play of the game of marbles thereupon with the rim 20 shown as having a removed portion 30 opening flush to the playing surface 16 and, with the rim 20, selectively rotatable at will, affording limited access to the playing surface 16 at the level thereof so as to facilitate the playing of the game of marbles, for exam- As disclosed in the copending application, the rim 20 is formed of a plurality of arcuate sheets 20' connected end-toend by a pin and binge connection 32, the rim 20 being removable in separate sheets or bodily, without manipulation of the disc 14 in any manner. Likewise, the roller means 22 may be removed simply by sliding the leg 34 of the bracket 26 in the channel 36 of the holders 28. [Removal of the rim 20 renders the table 10 useful for the playing of other games, such as card games and the like thereupon, or permits the table 10 to be used for general purposes. Removal of diametrically opposed rollers 24 and the replacement of the bracket 26 thereof with another bracket including an upstanding support member (not shown) permits the table 10 to be used to play a form of table tennis, a net being strung across the diameter of the table 10 and connected to such support for such purpose. Thus, the table that was disclosed in the copending application was a versatile one and the purpose of the improvement herein disclosed is to expand the use of the recreation table to greater versatility, whereby the table is convertible for the play of the still more specialized game, namely pocket billiards.

In FIG. 3, there is shown a plan view of the recreation table l0 in accordance with the invention as converted to a round pocket billiard table. The playing surface 16 may be the same as shown in FIG. 1. A rack of billiard balls 38 and the cue ball 40 is shown disposed on the table with the rack ready to be broken in the manner of playing billiards. The peripheral edge of the playing surface 16 has spaced thereupon cushion means 42 with pockets 43 spaced about the circumference of the playing surface.

The cushion means 42 is formed by a plurality of separate segment assemblies generally referred to by reference character 44 and illustrated in FIG. 4. The segment assemblies 44 are semicircular with the concave portion thereof facing toward the center of the playing surface 16. The segment assemblies 44 are mounted to the disc 14 and along the peripheral edge of disc 14 with the cushion 42' of each facing inward towards the center of playing surface 16. The segment assemblies 44 are spaced apart a predetermined distance and are bridged by demicylindrical cup means 46 which form the pockets 43 about the circumference of the table 10.

The segment assemblies 44 are mounted to the disc 14 by means of clamp means 48, shown in the form of a C clamp pair of conventional construction, which clamps may be permanently or removably secured to the assemblies 44.

Each of the segment assemblies 44 comprises a primary arcuate segment 50 of generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration, and which may be formed of wood finished to desired configuration. A secondary segment in the form of an arcuate strip 52 has a generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration.

The primary and secondary segments 50 and 52 may be fastened together either by screw means 53 or by adhesive means (not shown). The segments 50 and 52 may even be formed of one piece. Cushioning material of rubber or other resilient material may be utilized to constitute the cushion 42' which is of generally triangular cross-sectional configuration having an upper surface 56 generally flush with the upper surfaces of segments 50 and 52. The apex 58 of the cushion 42' is rounded and a tongue 60 may be provided to depend along a portion of segment 52 toward the disc 14 in installed condition of assemblies 44. The cushion may be provided with recess means in the form of a groove 62 longitudinal of its length and located at a position substantially opposed to the apex 58. The groove 62 aids in providing a more resilient structure and further serves as an anchoring medium for webbing (not shown) which may be provided to aid in adhering the cushion to the segment 52 by use of adhesive 61. Each entire segment assembly 44 may be covered with felt, the felt being stapled thereto or glued or other means of completing the assembly to form the segment assembly 44 is likely to be satisfactory. Alternatively, only the cushion 42 and second segment 52 may be covered with felt with the felt held fixedly therebetween.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, clamping means 48 such as the C clamps may be permanently secured to the segments spaced inward of the ends thereof.

The primary segment 50 is provided with a pair of slots 64 and 66 preferably opening to the ends 68 and to the top and bottom of segment 50. The purpose of the slots 64 and 66 will be explained hereinafter.

As shown in FIG. 3, each of the segment assemblies 44 has been mounted and clamped onto the ring portion 18 of disc 14 so that the apexes of the cushions are directed inwardly toward the center of the disc 14. Each of the segment assemblies 44 is spaced one from the other and the demicup means 46 bridge the gaps therebetween.

The demicup means 46 comprises semicylindrical members each formed of an arcuate upstanding wall 70, a semicircular base 72, and a rim 74 extending inwardly of the wall 70 at the upper edge thereof. The rim '74 has a pair of end extensions 76, each of which is provided with a depending flange 78, identical one to the other. The flange 78 is disposed normal to the coplanar rim and extensions 74, 76 with the length of the extension being selected to be equal to the spacing between the slots 64 and 66 and the outer surface 80 of the primary segment 50.

Therefore, when the segment assemblies 44 are installed, the depending portions 78 of the demicups 46 are simply fitted into the slots 64 and 66, and in that manner the edge 82 of the semicircular base 72 is substantially flush to the edge of the disc 14. The depth of the demicups 46 is selected as required to accommodate a billiard ball 38 as shown in FIG. the object of the game of billiards being to direct the balls selectively one by one into the various pockets 43 defined by demicup means 46.

Various other means of connecting the cup means to the segment ends for bridging the space therebetween may be devised and are within the scope of the invention. The specific means disclosed herein may be described as a slot and key connection with the slot being formed in the arcuate segments 50 opening to the ends thereof and the key being the extensions 76 and the depending portions 78 of the demicup 46.

It is also conceivable that the table may carry one quality playing surface on one side such as the surface 16 and may, in fact, have another quality playing surface more suitable for playing billiards for example, on the reverse side so that instead of surface 16 to be used for billiards, the disc 14 may simply be turned upside down with a new billiard surface replacing the surface 16. The surface 16 may also be a separate mat, smooth on one side and rougher on the other. Thus, the mat and not the table, in that instance, would be turned over.

It is possible to provide the arcuate segment 52 with a longitudinal outstanding portion, for example, rib 54, or a plurality of raised spaced buttons. The recess means, say 62, would be of matching configuration, with the opening thereon narrower than the wider portion 50 that a snap-in connection is effected in assembly of the segment assembly 44.

All in all, while there are in fact many structure known as round pocket billiard tables, none are as simple to construct and erect, easily demountable and convertible to other uses so that the recreation table 10 may, in fact, have played thereupon a plurality of games of varied and diflerent natures and yet the table may also be utilized for general table purposes. None of the prior art structures, so far as applicant is aware, provide such a simple and versatile recreation table construction.

What is desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A knockdown recreation table which comprises a disc member carrying a friction playing surface thereon, a plurality of arcuate segment assemblies arranged secured removably to the disc along the peripheral edge thereof, said segment assemblies disposed spaced one from the other on the disc and adjacent the periphery thereof, said segment assemblies each including cushion means secured thereto and directed toward said playing surface, demicylindrical cup means arranged adjacent said disc between said segment assemblies and opening toward said playing surface, said cup means comprises a demicylinder having an open top, an arcuate vertically disposed wall and a horizontally disposed semicircular base, the ends of said arcuate wall terminating at a vertical plane common to the edge of the base and means removably coupling said cup means with said segment assemblies adjacent thereto, whereby in assembled condition, a round pocket billiard table is formed with the cup means defining the pocket thereof yet said segment assemblies and cup means being demountable from said disc to provide unobstructed lateral access to the playing surface to permit use thereof for other purposes.

2. The recreation table as claimed in claim 1 in which the arcuate wall has an inwardly extending horizontal rim, said rim having L-shaped extensions at the ends thereof which include depending end portions and said segment assemblies having slot means to receive said end portions the length of the horizontal portion of said extensions and the location of said slot means being coordinated to assure the secure positioning of said demicylinder with the ends closely adjacent the peripheral edge of the disc and the base below the level of the disc a distance to enable retention of a billiard ball within said demicylindrical cup means.

3. The recreational table as claimed in claim 2 and clamp means securing said segment assemblies upon said disc.

4. The recreational table as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cushion means comprise an arcuate length of resilient material of substantially triangular cross section and having the apex thereof directed inward of said disc member and one edge thereof being disposed adjacent the playing surface in installed condition of said segment assemblies.

cushion means comprise an arcuate length of resilient material of substantially triangular cross section and having the apex thereof directed inward of said disc member and one edge thereof being disposed adjacent the playing surface in installed condition of said segment assemblies.

zg gg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PatentNo. 3,610,618 Dated October 5, 1971 Inventofls) Kennet h Wigg ins It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 4, lines 68, 70, after "'claim",' "2" should read as --1-- Column 5, line 1, after "claim" "2" should read as --l-.

Signed and sealed this 28th day of March 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M .FLETCHER, JR Attesting Officer R0 BERT GO'IT SCHALK Commissioner of Patents 

1. A knockdown recreation table which comprises a disc member carrying a friction playing surface thereon, a plurality of Arcuate segment assemblies arranged secured removably to the disc along the peripheral edge thereof, said segment assemblies disposed spaced one from the other on the disc and adjacent the periphery thereof, said segment assemblies each including cushion means secured thereto and directed toward said playing surface, demicylindrical cup means arranged adjacent said disc between said segment assemblies and opening toward said playing surface, said cup means comprises a demicylinder having an open top, an arcuate vertically disposed wall and a horizontally disposed semicircular base, the ends of said arcuate wall terminating at a vertical plane common to the edge of the base and means removably coupling said cup means with said segment assemblies adjacent thereto, whereby in assembled condition, a round pocket billiard table is formed with the cup means defining the pocket thereof yet said segment assemblies and cup means being demountable from said disc to provide unobstructed lateral access to the playing surface to permit use thereof for other purposes.
 2. The recreation table as claimed in claim 1 in which the arcuate wall has an inwardly extending horizontal rim, said rim having L-shaped extensions at the ends thereof which include depending end portions and said segment assemblies having slot means to receive said end portions the length of the horizontal portion of said extensions and the location of said slot means being coordinated to assure the secure positioning of said demicylinder with the ends closely adjacent the peripheral edge of the disc and the base below the level of the disc a distance to enable retention of a billiard ball within said demicylindrical cup means.
 3. The recreational table as claimed in claim 2 and clamp means securing said segment assemblies upon said disc.
 4. The recreational table as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cushion means comprise an arcuate length of resilient material of substantially triangular cross section and having the apex thereof directed inward of said disc member and one edge thereof being disposed adjacent the playing surface in installed condition of said segment assemblies.
 5. The recreation table as claimed in claim 2 in which each of said segment assemblies comprise a first arcuate segment, a second arcuate segment engaged with the inner surface of said first segment, said resilient cushion means being engaged with the inwardly facing surface of said second segment, and means to establish engagement therebetween.
 6. The recreational table as claimed in claim 5 wherein said cushion means comprise an arcuate length of resilient material of substantially triangular cross section and having the apex thereof directed inward of said disc member and one edge thereof being disposed adjacent the playing surface in installed condition of said segment assemblies. 